By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Reggie West graduated from Perry, and Valdosta State, went into the military, then into law enforcement, and then into coaching and teaching.

          He is prepared for anything.

          Now, though, he’s preparing for time and sleep and grandkids.

          He’s getting a good start, spending some spring break time in Savannah a month after his final games Perry head boys basketball coach.

          West told Perry principal Del Martin and athletics director Arthur Billings at the start of the year that this would be his final season coaching basketball.

          “I got three grandboys,” West said. “I got one that’ll turn 5,and I missed his soccer season, and I missed his basketball season because of my basketball season. So after we talked this past summer, I went home and I told my wife I was gonna pull back.”

          Randy Moss, who has been part of Perry athletics for decades, was the athletics director at Perry Middle and hired West from the Perry Police Department in 2005. He started out coaching eighth-grade boys, changed his major from criminal justice to education to improve his chances to become a high school basketball coach.

          “That lit that fire when he gave me that opportunity,” West said.

          He moved up to varsity girls basketball and then boys at Perry High.

          “It’s been about 15, 16 years straight without a break,” said West, who also coached football and track at Perry. ”Getting a little tired, getting a little where I need a transition a little bit.”

          At one point, West was coaching all three sports, meaning some serious overlapping.

          “I remember one year … I coached varsity football – we meet on Sundays – and I coached varsity basketball and left varsity basketball for varsity track,” West said. “As soon as varsity track was over, we started spring football.

          “That next year, I walked into (Kevin) Smith’s office: ‘Look, you tryin’ to kill me. I can’t do it.’”

          West has watched Perry’s football merry-go-round for years turn stable, and into one of the area’s top programs under Kevin Smith, who took over as head coach and AD in 2017. Not long ago, though, Billings took over as AD, and the overall athletics program is a successful one.

          “We’ve got some stability,” West said.

          The Panthers won their first-round state tournament game over Hardaway before ending last season with a loss to Druid Hills.

          According to information reported to MaxPreps, West went 48-65 coaching the boys and 46-37 with the girls, for a 94-102 overall mark.

          There was also some major family pressure in the decision. Montay West is the boys basketball coach at Spalding, a Perry region rival. So father played son twice last season.

          “I didn’t sleep for a week,” West said. “I said, ‘this is gonna kill me,’ because I didn’t want that joker to beat me. I can’t do this. I can’t lose to that joker.”

          Perry won 90-75 and 72-60.

          Now, he can watch his son coach without the pressure, and with the satisfaction of being undefeated against him.

          West isn’t coming back to get that 100th win or try to finish with a .500-or-better record. But he’s not leaving yet, either.

          Moss is head coach of Perry’s new girls flag football team, and West is going to help out.

          “It’s not one of those four-month things, like basketball,” West said.

          And he’ll keep doing what he eventually realized he wanted to do.

          “Coaching got me into education,” said West, a history and social studies teacher. “A lot of people dream about (coaching). I got the opportunity to live out the dream.

“I would like to public thank (Smith, Billings, and Martin) for giving me an opportunity, and the support they’ve given me … and allow me to accomplish my dream.”